Prom and Prejudice [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Eulberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2011

From the much-buzzed-about author of THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB (already blurbed by Stephenie Meyer, Lauren Myracle, and Jen Calonita), a prom-season delight of Jane Austen proportions.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single girl of high standing at Longbourn Academy must be in want of a prom date.
After winter break, the girls at the very prestigious Longbourn Academy become obsessed with the prom. Lizzie Bennet, who attends Longbourn on a scholarship, isn't interested in designer dresses and expensive shoes, but her best friend, Jane, might be - especially now that Charles Bingley is back from a semester in London.
Lizzie is happy about her friend's burgeoning romance but less than impressed by Charles's friend, Will Darcy, who's snobby and pretentious. Darcy doesn't seem to like Lizzie either, but she assumes it's because her family doesn't have money. Clearly, Will Darcy is a pompous jerk - so why does Lizzie find herself drawn to him anyway?

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Eulberg retells Jane Austen’s still popular tale of class, love, and danger both emotional and physical. Setting this version in a contemporary Connecticut school for the socially elite, and casting Lizzie Bennett as a scholarship student and musical prodigy, Eulberg’s story unfolds along lines predictable both from the original plot and the spate of recent “mean rich girls” novels. That said, this version does justice to Austen and shows up the utter silliness of kids rich in material—and designer brand name—goods, the moodiness of some males (not often mined in YA literature), and the ways truth can be hidden by both outright lying (on the part of Wick, the villain of the piece) and shyness (both Lizzie’s and Darcy’s). This makes, in all, a fairly delightful blend of past and present value systems and social expectations. For those who haven’t read the original, that will be the obvious next stop; for those who have, there’s fun to be had in forecasting how Eulberg will rescript each upcoming scene. Grades 7-10. --Francisca Goldsmith

Review

Praise for the Lonely Hearts Club:

"A must-read for anyone who's ever fallen in love—or sworn it off completely. A funny, fantastic debut." Stephenie Meyer, author of The Twilight Saga

"The Lonely Hearts Club turns the world of teen dating upside—down, proving that a girl can ignore 'the rules' and still land squarely, happily, and hilariously on her feet." —Lauren Myracle, author of ttyl

"Very enjoyable and extremely cute... A great debut!" —www.TeensReadToo.com

"It's hard not to get caught up in this good natured revenge fantasy." —The New York Times Book Review

"A delightful coming-of-age story about learning to define yourself without shutting the door on love." —Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games trilogy

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Point; 1 edition (January 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0545240778
• ISBN-13: 978-0545240772
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (120 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #613,362 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Elizabeth Eulberg was born and raised in Wisconsin before heading off to college at Syracuse University and making a career in the New York City book biz. Now a full-time writer, she is the author of The Lonely Hearts Club, Prom & Prejudice, Take a Bow, and Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality. She lives outside of Manhattan with her three guitars, two keyboards, and one drumstick.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Readergirl Reviews a Teen Book January 13, 2011

By Readergirl Reviews a Teen Book

Format:Hardcover

This was a fun read, and a cute retelling of the Jane Austen classic, Pride and Prejudice. Although I did enjoy it, it fell a little flat for me. Obviously the story was bound to be a little predictable, if you've read Pride and Prejudice, but I felt that it was just a little too predictable. It went beyond just a general parallel and became more like an exact duplicate. I really felt the author could have done a little bit more with this and brought something new into the mix.

Although I liked the Lizzie character in this story, there was strength to the original Lizzie that I missed in this one. This Lizzie seemed to let herself be bothered too much by the things around her, whereas the original Lizzie held herself rather above it and was able to keep it more in perspective, until the very last large event occurs that disrupts her entire family.

Similarly, Will Darcy seemed a little lifeless to me. I would have liked to have known a little bit more about this character, his life, and his feelings. I wanted to see some emotional reaction or get to know his inner workings a little bit better and see him more as a three dimensional character.

My favorite character in this retelling was Jane. She seemed to fit the original Jane rather well, but the author actually improved on her a little bit and gave her a littie of her own strength that the original Jane didn't have. I found this change refreshing and unique. I felt the author brought something new into the character that was very appealing, while still holding true to the original.

I did enjoy reading this story, as it was cute and light-hearted. I love this author and think she's enormously talented. I can't wait until her next book comes out.... I would recommend this book to others, especially if they haven't read Pride and Prejudice before. Overall, a very fun read. Read more ›

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved It December 30, 2010

By Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf

Format:Hardcover

Ever since Elizabeth Eulberg's fun and girl-empowering debut The Lonely Hearts Club, I've been eager to read more books by her, including her newest release Prom and Prejudice. Luckily enough, Prom and Prejudice is no sophomore slump for Ms. Eulberg. Quite the opposite, in fact, because not only is Prom and Prejudice sweet, heart-warming, and witty fun, but it's even better than The Lonely Hearts Club!

After a horrible first semester, Lizzie Bennett has finally come to terms with the fact that she just can't fit into the prestigious, girls-only Longbourn Academy. Longbourn Academy is a school for wealthy, mostly pompous trust-fund babies, which is something Lizzie just isn't. But, yet again, that's okay because she has her best friend Jane and major talent with the piano. Though, everything changes when Darcy, the charming yet snobby and full-of-himself best friend of Jane's crush Charles, walks into her life. At first sight, Lizzie puts Darcy aside as yet anther jerk, but, as the novel progress, she begins to wonder if there's more to him then meets the eye. Will Darcy and Lizzie come to terms? Better yet, will they see how perfect they are for each other? And how about Jane, will she end with her crush as well? Only time will tell this enchanting read perfect for any snowy afternoon by the fire.

One of the big things I always love about Eulberg's books is that she creates strong and intelligent female protagonists, ones who don't instantly fall in love with a guy they barley know or do ridiculous stuff, because when it comes down to it, those kind of characters are ones I think teens, like myself, have an easier time relating to. Luckily, Lizzie and her friend Jane are the perfect examples of this.... Both are smart, witty girls who I had a blast reading about, especially when the charming yet pompous Darcy was involved, as well as Jane's sweet Charles.

While the plot of this is predictable, it didn't detract from the overall story one bit, because sometimes a nice, breezy read is just what you need. I thought Elizabeth did a great job of incorporating aspects of Pride and Prejudice into this, as well as creating the perfect amount of believable tension between Lizzie and the typical snobby Longbourn girl. I also loved how she constantly had me torn over if one particular character was good or bad. Which character is it, you may ask? Well, you'll just have to find out, and it's not the predictable choice.

In all, Prom and Prejudice is yet another enchanting and adorable read by Ms. Eulberg, one I highly recommend to girls (or even boys) who enjoyed The Lonely Hearts Club, as well as Meg Cabot and Sarah Dessen books.

Grade: A+ Read more ›

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Sweet Prom Date January 29, 2011

By Galleysmith VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

A shortened view of Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Eulberg adapts the well known story for a teen audience in which she centers the story around two posh New York City prep schools -- Longbourn and Pemberly Acadamies.

Vapid rich mean girl types reign supreme at Longbourn and as one would expect they turn their noses up at the few scholarship students in attendance. They are cruel to these girls pulling hurtful pranks and making outcasts of them. As a result, the scholarship students are forced to endure higher levels of anxiety and stress and can find very little support or comfort. At the center of all this torment is Prom -- the most highly-anticipated, exclusive and high-brow event on campus. An event that both encourages and intensifies the class war.

The story, while awesome conceptually, felt somewhat periphery. All of the big milestones are there, from Charles and Jane's separation to Wick and Lydia's running off, but overall the story felt a bit off to me. I wanted more depth, less story from 50-thousand feet and more at around 25-thousand. Moreover, I wanted to feel more of a connection. The original carries with it strong emotion and I didn't feel as much that here.

This limited emotion and lack of connection is firmly planted in the fact that I found Will lacking in the charisma of the original Darcy. He was a bit flat and with little focus on his character outside of the expected instances exhibiting his prejudice I didn't really feel like I cared one way or another if Lizzie ended up with him.

Despite this issue, the strength of this story is in how Eulberg adapted the characters to fit the teenage audience.... Lizzie is a scholarship girl of little wealth who is befriended by Jane a girl of former wealth who is on her way down the ladder. Jane's sister Lydia is also a student at Longbourn and has all the tact and etiquette of a bull in a china shop. Wick is the ever present bitter vengeful outcast playing foe to one and all. Close friends Charles Bingley and Will Darcy attend neighboring Pemberly and are regular visitors to Longbourn where they see Bingley's sister Caroline (one of the aforementioned vapid rich mean girl types). Yes, she wants Darcy. Yes she wants to keep Jane from Charles. So though there are some differences in the relationships between how characters are placed on family trees some remain the same.

Eulerg is also a master of dialogue. Not one to ramble on unnecessarily her characters are well and appropriately spoken. When circumstances warrant there is great wit and humor then at other times anger, empathy, distress and a variety of other emotions all deftly expressed. There is no disguising her prowess with dialogue both internal and external.

Though I didn't love this book as much as I was anticipating I did enjoy it for the light and fun read that it is. It's a great piece of fluff with spots of angst for the reader who wants to see a bit of conflict. It follows closely (though in a unique and original way) Austen's original plot thus making it a fun way for a new generation to learn about the story of Pride and Prejudice. Read more ›